Roles at the company, staying involved as a founder & other listener questions

What It Covers

37signals cofounders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson explain their unconventional company structure, including which roles they eliminated, why designers code their own work, and how they structure equity without traditional venture capital.

Key Questions Answered

• •Eliminated roles: 37signals operates without project managers, middle management, salespeople, in-house legal, or business development. These roles create work that pulls productive employees into unnecessary projects rather than adding value, reducing overall company capability and speed.
• •Designer implementation: Designers at 37signals write all their own HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Two-person teams (one designer, one programmer) can take features from concept to production independently, creating faster feedback loops and higher job satisfaction than specialized handoff processes.
• •Hire when it hurts: New roles require ten concrete tasks the person will complete in month one, not fuzzy anticipatory needs. Speculative hiring for future growth creates overhead and invented work, while pain-based hiring ensures immediate value and prevents premature complexity.
• •LLC profit sharing: 37signals uses an LLC structure with profit sharing and a 10% liquidity pool for employees based on tenure, avoiding complicated equity cap tables. This works when not raising venture capital or underpaying employees with equity promises.